| Founded | 1900s |
|---|---|
| In | Korea |
| Founded by | Unknown |
| Years active | 1900s–present |
| Territory | International |
| Ethnicity | Korean people |
| Criminal activities | Arms trafficking, Human trafficking, Counterfeiting, Drug trafficking, assault, Extortion, Fraud, identity document forgery, Illegal immigration, Larceny, Murder, Prostitution, Racketeering, money laundering Bribery |
| Allies | Russian Mafia, yakuza, Southeast Asian pirates, Irish Mob |
| Rivals | Various Asian street gangs internationally |
A Kkangpae (깡패; sometimes spelled Ggangpae or Gangpeh) is the name of either literally the mafia of South Korea or a street gang. Kkangpae literally translates to "Thug" in Korean. The Korean Mafia is referred to in Korean as Gundal (건달) and or Jopok (조폭 (組暴); refers to organized criminals/mafia). Korean mobs primarily function in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Tokyo, New York City, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Southern Florida.
They are infamous for their proficient fighting skills, ruthless extortion and loan sharking tactics. Increasingly in the 2000s, the South Korean film industry has popularized the kkangpae/jopok culture.
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Historians believe that the rise of Korean mobs started back in the 17th century, the fading days of the Joseon Dynasty. With the rise of commerce and the emergence of investment from western powers, pre-existing street gangs, often consisting of lower class muscle and operated by wealthy merchants, gained influence. The modern history of Korean criminal organizations divides into four periods—the "Romantic Period" during the Colonial era, political mobs of the late 1950s and early 1960s under Syngman Rhee, the "Civil War period" under the military rule of Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan, and the present. Traditionally most mobsters were based in Seoul, the capital and the largest city in South Korea.
During the 35 years of Japanese rule, some sources claim that Koreans were subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution - though this is refuted by Japanese government and by the mainstream of post-war Japanese academic history research. This intensified during World War II when Japan spread its empire throughout Manchuria,and parts of China. Koreans fled to Japan and formed mobs to overcome racial hate and crimes. The most infamous "mobster" during this period was Kim Doo Han, the son of a famous independence fighter and insurgent leader Kim Jwa-jin, a freedom fighter against Colonial rule. After his father and mother were killed, he grew up as a beggar and hung out with a local gang, named Jumok (fist). He rose through the ranks and became infamous for fighting groups against the yakuza.
The colonial branch of Yakuza was then under the control of Hayashi, an ethnic Korean who defected to the Japanese and joined the yakuza. The rival mob to Hayashi's Yakuza was controlled by Koo Majok, but the Korean mobs were always short of money and many local mob bosses were disloyal to Koo and formed separated mobs, notably Shin Majok and Ssang Kal (twin knives). Koo Majok finally tried to solidify his control over the Korean mobs by knocking out Ssang Kal and taking over his territory but it caused a backlash. Kim Doo Han, originally a member of Ssang Kal, rebelled against Koo Majok. Kim killed both Shin Majok and Koo Majok and unified all the Korean mobs under his command at the age of 18. After solidifying his rule by beating the revolting groups, Kim made his move against the Yakuza, starting the famous trial war between Jumok and Yakuza, which became symbolic of the resistance by Koreans against Japanese. Kim Doo Han was a major figure of the movement against the colonial rule. To this date, many Korean mobs are still at war with Japanese mobs, or yakuza.
Ironically, many Japanese yakuza, some claim a majority, are themselves of Korean origin (known as zainichi-kankokujin in Japanese), including Hayashi.
Korea soon became the battlefield of a Cold War between ideologies, as the Korean War erupted in 1950. Prior to the Korean War, several mobs in South Korea defected to communist side; almost all gangs were exterminated in North Korea under the command of Kim Il-Sung. However by the beginning of the Korean War, almost all communist mobs disappeared from South Korea, due to brutal suppression from the government. Many North Korean gangs also moved into South Korea and formed large factions, led by Lee Hwa Ryong.
After the Korean War, South Korea was in complete ruins. The economy almost did not exist as most of the population were short of food. The political situation of South Korea was even more terrible, as the government of Syngman Rhee struggled to keep the control of nation. To solve the problem, the Rhee government allied itself with several criminal organizations, including the Dongdaemunpa of Lee Jeong Jae. Dongdaemunpa soon formed a rivalry with Lee Hwa Ryong's Myeongdongpa; however, Dongdaemunpa, with the backing of the government, usually outsmarted Myeongdongpa and avoided the police, while Myeongdongpa members were often arrested and imprisoned. The opposition was brutally oppressed by the political mobs; Dongdaemunpa and other organizations were often accused of rigging elections. The terror of the political gangs made the Rhee government extremely unpopular, and following the presidential election of 1960, Rhee's Liberal Party was accused of election fraud and was overthrown by a revolt of the people.
The new government took power after Syngman Rhee was incompetent and was unable to make the nation stable. Instead of causing new prosperity, the policy of new government dragged the country into chaos; and finally on May 16, 1961, Major-General Park Chung Hee led a successful coup against the government and started his 18-year military rule. Immediately after taking control of government, Park ordered the arrest of many politically affiliated gang bosses, including Lee Jeong Jae and Lim Hwa-su; they were subsequently executed. After this large crackdown on organized crime, most of the mobs became underground organizations, but still survived the new era.
After the execution of Lee and dissolution of Dongdaemunpa, Sin Sang Hyeon of Sinsangsapa became the most influential figure within Korean gangs. However during the 1970s, Beomhonampa under Oh Jongcheol and Park Jong-seok gained strength and challenged the Sinsangsapa. In 1975, Beomhonampa attacked the New Year party of Sinsangsapa and became the most powerful organization. However the Beomhonampa was divided by Oh and Park; and Jo Yang-eun and Kim Tae Chon emerged as the most powerful figure of the gangs of the time. Kim Tae Chon gained his fame by introducing knives to the Korean mobs; he stabbed Oh Jongcheol and formed his own mob, Beomseobangpa, and soon became the most noted figure of organized crime in Korea; Jo Yang-eun also formed Yangeunyipa and started war against Kim, as well as OBpa of Lee Dong Jae. At the same time, various gangs rose from many South Korean cities, following the rapid economical and industrial development under Park Chung Hee government. Many organizations based their wealth on many businesses such as money laundering, loan sharking, liquor selling, construction, gambling, prostitution and others.
Organized crime was widespread in Korea during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The syndicates controlled large parts of the entertainment district, media and politics. Common practices of these groups included racketeering, prostitution, loan sharking, money laundering (ex. construction) and gambling. However in 1990, the Korean government declared a war against organized crime,[1] which resulted in the incarceration of thousands of mobsters and mob bosses. However the gangs transformed themselves into business corporations, and yet began another expansion as the East Asian Financial Crisis struck the nation in 1997.
The last known kingpin was James Chang, last spotted in Honolulu, Hawaii. There are over 12 arrest warrants on his name. He went underground after his mansion in rural Cuba was attacked by rival drug cartels. His trademark is a .357 magnum revolver in satin silver with the grips bound with electrical tape.
Current activities of mobsters include extortion, prostitution, illegal goods (drugs, guns), money laundering (construction, fishing), loan sharking, kidnappings, and running night clubs. Mobs have more of a presence and control in smaller towns and cities, where there is less of a police and government presence. Korean organized crime also has strong connections with the Japanese yakuza and the Russian mafia.
Members of organized crime often have tattoos of the pa (mob) they are in. When confronted by other mobs, they show the tattoo to identify themselves. The tattoo can also be used as a warning to civilians. Because of this, tattoos have often been considered taboo.
The stereotypical image of mobsters in Korea is as follows: gakdoogi hair (sides shaved, hair on top), big build, black attire, tacky suits, black luxury cars, huge tattoos and saturi regional dialects. Contrary to popular belief, Seoul is not known for mob activity. The mobs of the Jeollado region (Gwangju, Mokpo) are the most well known. Other gangsters are known to come from Busan and Incheon.
There are many named local gangs and organized crime associations in Korea. They often open up local businesses to earn extra profit, however, their usual source of income are from protections fees, in which they take over a certain street they call their "territory" (구역) and all businesses existing on that street must pay a monthly payment to the gang leaders in exchange for not trashing their business. The top three gangs in South Korea are "Chil Sung Pa" (칠성파), or Seven Star, "Hwan Song Sung Pa" (환송성파), [the origin of the name is ambiguous; rumors has it 환,송,and 성 represent nicknames of the three founders of the gang], and "Ssang Yong Pa," or (Double Dragon). These gangs compete amongst each other continuously.
Chil Sung Pa (칠성파) literally means Seven Star Mob. The name of the gang apparently originated from the seven founders (of which three are in jail, and two are dead) of the gang. They function much like Japan's yakuza, and have gained notoriety underground, yet their crimes are not publicly released—therefore the South Korean police cannot arrest them although they have suspicions against their illegal deeds. Like the Japanese Yakuzas, Chil-Sung-Pa has a headquarter building located in Busan. They are thought to be the number 1 gang in South Korea. Their mob tattoo is a pattern of seven stars on their chest.
Hwan-Song-Sung-Pa (환송성파) is another notorious gang from South Korea. Origin of the gang's name is rather unknown. It is however rumored that the founders of the gang are from the same family: the Son (손) family and 환, 송, and 성 are the third letters in their Korean names. [However this theory has its doubts since the gang was originally called Hwan-Song Pa (환송파), the above theory would mean the gang had a new founder added just awhile back in the summer of 2009.] Hwan-Song-Sung-Pa is usually referred to as "H.S.S Mob" and has existed rather quiet in South Korea after 2008. However, their activities with international gangs have grown tremendously. Active treaties with gangs in the U.S., Mexico, Japan, China, and Brazil have brought the gang international fame amongst gang society. Their base is known to be in both Suwon and Goon San. Their signature mob tattoo is the Hanja character of "Son" (孫) the founders' family name, on any part of their body. Where they have it signifies rank. Under-age members are not required to get them until 18 years of age. It is also believed that this gang was developed by Book-Moon-Pa (북문파), a famous Korean gang that originates from Suwon. However, it is only a theory. It is also commonly believed that H.S.S Mob works for big Korean corporations, doing their dirty work in exchange for high sums of payments.
Ssang-Yong-Pa (쌍용파) is a gang that is thought to be extinct from Korean society. Oldest out of the top three gangs in South Korea, Ssang-Yong-Pa members were known to be very violent and brutal during the late 80s to late 90s. Their activities have decreased over time since then. The origin of the name of the gang is a mystery. During 2005, the Ssang-Yong-Pa showed the world they were alive by raiding many night clubs and businesses, however, since then they have remained quiet once again. Their main territory is Gwang Ju. Their mob tattoo is the two dragons curling over each other on their upper arm.
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